#Types of serial killers how to#

In particular, researchers are now beginning to develop models to help to predict who is likely to commit serial homicide, and how to interpret offending patterns as a way to predict later offending behaviour (Hewitt, Beauregard, & Martineau, 2016 Ioana, 2013 Miller, 2014). Athrough it is form of multicide, serial homicide is not to be confused with mass murder, which is defined as four or more murders that occur in one event, with no distinctive time lapse between them, or spree-killing, which is any murder that occurs at two or more locations with no emotional cooling-off period between (Douglas et al., 1992).Īdvances in computational intelligence and the establishment of large datasets have meant that researchers in serial homicide are moving towards predictive models and understanding. Serial homicide, as defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is “the unlawful killing of two or more victims in separate events.” Serial homicide is an intentional, premeditated act, not a crime carried out on impulse or in response to a perceived provocation or threat (Reid, 2016).

Homicide is an all-inclusive term, and there are different subcategories of homicide, such as murder, multicide, and manslaughter. Homicide is legally defined as the killing of another person. The present research highlights the importance of childhood abuse as a risk factor for serial killers’ behaviours, and provides a novel and important advance in profiling serial killers and understanding the sequential progression of their life histories. The results provide individual accounts of abuse types and behaviours. Sexual, physical, and psychological abuse often led to distinct crime scene behaviours. Behaviour Sequence Analysis was used to show significant links between behaviours and events across their lifetime. A large database ( n = 233) of male serial killers with known childhood abuse (physical, sexual, or psychological) was analysed according to typologies and crime scene behaviours. The role of early childhood abuse, leading to types of serial murder and behaviours involved in the murders, was analysed using Behaviour Sequence Analysis.

After reviewing the evidence, it is reasonable to suggest that there is not one singular cause of serial killing, rather a variety of social, biological and cognitive factors and that can cause someone to be susceptible or expedite the process of becoming a serial killer.The aim of the current research was to provide a new method for mapping the developmental sequences of serial killers’ life histories. Lastly, personality disorders are explored in relation to social, biological and cognitive psychology and how they link to serial killing. Cognitive psychology explores how brain dysfunctions can lead to serial murder, with emphasis on head injury causing frontal lobe damage. Biological psychology explores the nature side of the debate, with emphasis on chromosomal abnormalities, a biological predisposition for crime and other biological functions. Social psychology explores the nurture side of the ‘nature vs nurture’ debate, with emphasis on childhood trauma, re-enactment and self-evaluation. Definitional problems with defining serial murder has led to confusion when classifying murder and therefore its causes. Serial murderer is classified as the murder of 3 or more victims by the same offender, over multiple locations with the presence of a cooling off period (Ressler et al, 1988). A plethora of literature and various case studies of incarcerated serial killers have been used to support or debunk the theories explored. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to look into potential causes of serial killing, with emphasis on social, biological and cognitive psychology. Although serial killing was only defined in 1988, there is still more research to be conducted into the causes of this phenomena.

Types of serial killers